I’ve stopped scribbling on post-it notes and sticking them all over the apartment. Rejoice.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Tried and True

Full disclosure: I did a 6:30 a.m. Bikram class this
morning, so I’m all about the positivity today. And now, I’m going to share it
with the four of you who read this blog.

That's right, big news on the blog front—massive really: I
got another reader! So that brings the grand total to four! At this pace, some
sort of branding effort might be in order: visors, key chains, maybe bunting…I’m
just spitballin’ here.

But I digress.

It’s June, graduation time. For the youngsters, it’s
time for the pool, or, if you’re like me, dance camp. For those
graduating from high school, maybe there’s some separation anxiety swirling
about your household. But today I’m thinking about the crop of young adults who
are graduating college, looking to start their careers.

Now, this isn’t a commentary on the economy or
employment prospects for these young folks. It’s actually about trying. I heard
something in yoga the other day. It was a particularly steamy class and it was
packed, which just made everything hotter. There was a fair amount of
frustration on the mats for many people and amidst the grunting and
heavy exhales, the teacher said the dearest thing: He said that it didn’t
matter what the outcome of a posture was—maybe you’ll wobble, maybe you’ll fall
out, maybe you won’t get to the full expression—what matters is your effort,
that you try as hard as you can. And that’s where you have to be really
truthful with yourself, in that effort, in really showing up in that moment and
trying as hard as you can.

Which brings me to my disaster of a dinner last
night (stick with me, this will all tie together, I promise). I kind of pride
myself on making a kickin’, healthy dinner every night (or most nights, anyway).
It’s not a weird Stepford wife thing, it’s more of my hobby, my passion. A
passion that I get *really* into in a go to the greenmarket, buy only organic,
read the labels in the grocery store, eat seasonally kind of way. You know,
except when we order pizza.

Anyhow, I had it in my head to make a healthy stir
fry. There was going to be a sambal sauce. I was going to use sprouted tofu,
organic broccoli and brown rice. I was breaking out the lemongrass and ginger. It was going to be
transcendent.

One hour later, after grating, chopping, measuring,
pureeing, cooking down, I had a pan full of something that looked like cat
sick. And that’s how it tasted. So I opened up the refrigerator and starting
adding what I was sure would bring this saucy mess back from the brink. The
addition of honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, orange juice, peppadew juice (I
know, pure desperation), chopped peppadews (beyond desperate) and teriyaki didn’t help one bit. You see where
this is heading, right? Yep, down the drain.

And yet, I tried.

Of course, I don’t mean to equate one night of
culinary failures on what graduates are facing today, but here’s the thing: If
these young people are anything like me, there’s going to be a lot of trial and
error in the next year or so. When I graduated, it was clear that I’d poured
precious little time while in school thinking of my real-world life once I got
out. But I knew I wanted to write. So like any good English major, I went
back to school, got some practical knowledge and some hands-on experience. I
kept trying, kept climbing—in some cases, literally: I actually got to go to
the top of the Chrysler Building and stand out on scaffolding when workers were
shining it—all because I was persistent in getting an interview, in seeing this
place that not everyone gets to see.

When I was a journalist, the journey wasn’t over.
Much like other fields, you had to keep learning, doing, seeing and growing. If
you didn’t write about different things, stretch your comfort zone or keep
expanding your knowledge base, you’d languish. It was the same thing the years
I was an editor. Now I’m working on fiction writing. There is no easy road
here, no quick way to publication, and, since I’ve never done this type of
writing before, I’ve had a lot to learn. The point is to keep trying.

And so this concept of striving to do your best
seems a fitting theme for today when so many are graduating, embarking on real world stuff. There will be days when you wobble, when you feel so
spent that you can’t go any further. And yes, there will be days when you make
things that look like cat sick. But keep trying. Just try. That’s all you have
to do is try your hardest. Success will come with effort.

5 comments:

Hi Monica, I read your blog, so you have at least five readers! I love this post about effort. In Buddhism, they talk about striking a balance between effort and relaxation. I think yoga and finding a job and life in general are about that, too--striving and then letting go and then striving some more. Poor kids. If I were 21 now, I'd go overseas. I hope you're well.Love,Em